Lucknow, 2015.09.02 (Asian Age): The Akhilesh Yadav government is planning to take over the reins of the famous Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan and the Vindhyanchal Devi temple in Mirzapur.
The move is aimed at preventing exploitation of devotees in these temples and ensuring better facilities for pilgrims by developing the area around the shrines. Principal secretary, religious affairs, Navneet Sehgal said that the government had sought advice from the department of law on how to get an Act in place before taking up the ownership which presently rests with the respective trusts of the temples.
He added that the state government is collecting details of the total number of visitors at the two shrines and the revenue collected.
An official in the religious affairs department told this correspondent that pilgrims were often seen complaining about lack of facilities and exploitation by local priests.
“We want to develop these two shrines on the pattern of Vaishno Devi temple where there is no room for overcharging and exploiting pilgrims. At present, Vrindavan and Mirzapur lack good hotels, an efficient transport system — one that ensures safety of passengers — and other related facilities. Once the temples are taken over by the government, we will develop the places in a big way,” he said.
Significantly, the Akhilesh government has been working towards developing a more Hindu-friendly image without shedding its pro-Muslim image.
The state government has already announced a number of developmental schemes for Ayodhya and Varanasi and has also started “Samajwadi Shrawan Yatra” under which senior citizens are taken on pilgrimage to various shrines at government cost.
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